Reading and Writing
Writing a paragraph
Build a paragraph from a topic sentence, supporting sentences and a closing sentence, and keep everything in it about one idea.
A paragraph is not just a lump of text with a gap before it. It is one idea, worked through from start to finish, in a shape a reader can follow without being told what the shape is. Three kinds of sentence build it.
The topic sentence opens the door
It says what the whole paragraph is about, and it usually comes first. It has to be broad enough for everything that follows to fit under it — "A market at dawn is a busy place" can hold a whole paragraph; "I bought two mangoes there" cannot.
The supporting sentences do the work
Reasons, examples, facts and details — three or four of them, each one backing up the topic sentence. This is the middle of the paragraph and most of its length.
The closing sentence ties it off
It looks back over what has been said rather than starting anything new: So the river shapes almost everything the village does. Words like so, in all these ways and for all these reasons are how it signals that it is closing.
Unity — one idea, and only one
Every sentence in a paragraph must be about the topic sentence. A sentence that is perfectly true and quite interesting still has to go if it belongs to a different idea. That is the hardest rule to obey and the one that most improves writing.
Coherence — each sentence leads to the next
Unity is the paragraph holding one idea; coherence is the sentences holding on to each other. Linking words do it: however, therefore, for example, in addition, finally.
Have a play
A finished paragraph, drawn as the sentences it is built from. Find out what job each sentence is doing.
Tap any part of the picture.
Worked example
Which sentence has to go? "Cycling is good for a town. It costs nothing to run. It takes up little space to park. My uncle bought a red car last year. It also keeps the air clean."
Find the topic sentence: "Cycling is good for a town."
Everything else has to fit under it, so it is the ruler you measure the rest against.
Try it together
Let us name the three parts of a paragraph.
The paragraph is about why the school garden is worth keeping. Each answer is one word.
1.The first sentence tells the reader what the whole paragraph is about. What is that sentence called? Write one word.
Have a go
Which sentence does not belong in a paragraph about the school garden?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.